FilmFan
11-21-2009, 01:02 AM
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kZhYUIOwGyU/SeeBhOlRKGI/AAAAAAAAAlg/OiVCSUKuL5I/s400/Pyrokinesis.jpg
Pyrokinesis aka Kurosufaia
Running time: 115 minutes
Directed by: Shusuke Kaneko
Starring: Akiko Yada
IMDB rating: 6.4
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266870/
The main character of Pyrokinesis is Junko, who has the power to set fire to anything or anyone with the power of her mind. She leads a quiet life and doesn't make much use of her powers. That state of affairs doesn't last for long, of course, or else there'd be no film.
After getting to know one of her co-workers at a party, she offers to get the train back with his sister so that she isn't her on her own. Once his sister reaches her station, she insists upon walking the short distance home on her own, and is abducted and murdered soon after.
She grows closer with her mourning co-worker, and confides in him about the power she posseses. After the lead suspect in the case is released despite being guilty, Junko offers to take matters into her own hands, and ends up almost burning him to death.
The event is witnessed by a third party, who contacts her asking to meet and claims to have a power of his own. Meanwhile, cops investigating the incident start to suspect that she may have been involved.
The plot gets a bit more complex (though it's not confusing) in the last third, but it's pretty solid though perhaps a bit too focused on the police officers.
I liked this film. The fact that I'd never heard of it despite searching around quite a bit for J-horror made me wonder if it was going to be a bit average, but I consider it to be one of the better offerings of the genre. It's probably more of a sci-fi than anything else, and I found it to be pretty original. Judging by the year of release, it probably went into development before the success of The Ring, and as a result there are no spooky girls with hair over their faces or ghosts coming after people.
This is directed by the same man responsible for Death Note 1+2. Although this isn't quite as impressive as DN, it does has some similar themes; the potential abuse of a supernatural power being one of them. This film appears to have a much smaller budget, which does show in some places, but isn't really a problem. I liked the main character (Yuko), and I felt that the film had more depth to it than most.
It's been several years since I watched Firestarter, but I think I'd rate Pyrokinesis above it. Having said that, despite sharing a protagonist that can set things alight with the power of her mind, the films aren't too similar, and a more apt comparison would probably be between Pyrokineses and Heroes, as both centre on people with supernatural powers attempting to do good in the world (although this is a fair bit darker in tone).
7/10
Pyrokinesis aka Kurosufaia
Running time: 115 minutes
Directed by: Shusuke Kaneko
Starring: Akiko Yada
IMDB rating: 6.4
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266870/
The main character of Pyrokinesis is Junko, who has the power to set fire to anything or anyone with the power of her mind. She leads a quiet life and doesn't make much use of her powers. That state of affairs doesn't last for long, of course, or else there'd be no film.
After getting to know one of her co-workers at a party, she offers to get the train back with his sister so that she isn't her on her own. Once his sister reaches her station, she insists upon walking the short distance home on her own, and is abducted and murdered soon after.
She grows closer with her mourning co-worker, and confides in him about the power she posseses. After the lead suspect in the case is released despite being guilty, Junko offers to take matters into her own hands, and ends up almost burning him to death.
The event is witnessed by a third party, who contacts her asking to meet and claims to have a power of his own. Meanwhile, cops investigating the incident start to suspect that she may have been involved.
The plot gets a bit more complex (though it's not confusing) in the last third, but it's pretty solid though perhaps a bit too focused on the police officers.
I liked this film. The fact that I'd never heard of it despite searching around quite a bit for J-horror made me wonder if it was going to be a bit average, but I consider it to be one of the better offerings of the genre. It's probably more of a sci-fi than anything else, and I found it to be pretty original. Judging by the year of release, it probably went into development before the success of The Ring, and as a result there are no spooky girls with hair over their faces or ghosts coming after people.
This is directed by the same man responsible for Death Note 1+2. Although this isn't quite as impressive as DN, it does has some similar themes; the potential abuse of a supernatural power being one of them. This film appears to have a much smaller budget, which does show in some places, but isn't really a problem. I liked the main character (Yuko), and I felt that the film had more depth to it than most.
It's been several years since I watched Firestarter, but I think I'd rate Pyrokinesis above it. Having said that, despite sharing a protagonist that can set things alight with the power of her mind, the films aren't too similar, and a more apt comparison would probably be between Pyrokineses and Heroes, as both centre on people with supernatural powers attempting to do good in the world (although this is a fair bit darker in tone).
7/10